Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Jacobs and I am thrilled to be starting up as a field director for Energy In Depth. I am a  landowner in Lycoming County, Pa., and I live on a back-road that many refer to as “the circuit” because of the number of folks that ride up and down it looking to see what a wellsite actually looks like.

As someone so close to the action, I get the opportunity on a daily basis to hear all about developing natural gas from the Marcellus — not only from those who support it, but also from some in the community who unfortunately have been sold a bill of goods with respect to what’s actually involved in the development process.  These are folks who truly believe that natural gas exploration and the technologies that make it possible are completely new, completely unregulated, and completely hidden from public view. They’re wrong, of course — but that’s not their fault. It’s ours. We know the truth. But what good is that knowledge if we don’t have the courage and/or conviction to get out there and spread it far and wide?

No good at all. But that’s why I am excited to be a part of this campaign. I cannot wait to help get information out to people about the Marcellus Shale and what it means for the economy and people of Pennsylvania and New York. Please feel free to contact me at nicole@energyindepth.org with any news you might have heard, any questions you may have, or any events you want us to be at or help with.

Now to give you the chance to learn a little more about me: Yesterday, I went for a Sunday drive and filmed some of the sites around my house. I have to admit, it was a little harder to find them now than it was this time last year — which says a lot about how well the land has been remediated since ground was broken several months back. Before, I could just look outside and see the rigs and holes being dug for pipelines. Now? It’s  just fields, grass and newly paved roads. Please bear with the video a little as I am still getting used to my flip cam. I hope you enjoy!

Update Here is the press release for Chief Oil and Gas’s road repairs that were commented on in the video.